Brooks Kushman P.C. – a nationally ranked intellectual property and technology law firm – recently promoted five attorneys, Maria F. Angileri, Chanille Carswell, Michael D. Cushion, Linda D. Mettes, and Kristin L. Murphy to Shareholders as the firm continues to grow.
“Maria, Chanille, Michael, Linda, and Kristin all have unique experience and talent that make them great assets to our leadership team,” said Mark Cantor, President. “At Brooks Kushman we are experiencing firm-wide growth and with that we are expanding our leadership team as we continue our focus on providing our clients with exceptional service.”
“The addition of Maria, Chanille, Linda and Kristin to our group of shareholders contributes to one of our core focuses at Brooks Kushman, which is to build a diverse team of professionals,” said Sangeeta Shah, Shareholder and Chief Diversity Officer. “Brooks Kushman is committed to furthering diversity and fostering an inclusive culture within the firm and our community.”
The five new Shareholders include:
Maria F. Angileri focuses her practice on domestic and foreign trademark protection. Angileri specializes in global branding strategy, trademark and domain name counseling, clearance, protection and enforcement for Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit and a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich.
Chanille Carswell concentrates her practice on intellectual property litigation. Carswell has represented clients in a variety of intellectual property disputes including patents, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights and unfair competition. She represents clients in a variety of industries such as automotive, banking, construction machinery, consumer products, retail, e-commerce and insurance.
Carswell assisted in successfully defending Double L Inc. (Double L) in a declaratory judgment action (E.D. Mich) regarding Double L’s LUCKY’S and LUCKY’S STEAKHOUSE and design trademarks, wherein summary judgment was granted in Double L’s favor and was recently affirmed on appeal. LexisNexis named the trademark dispute one of the Top 10 Trademark Cases for the Month of January 2012.
Carswell has practiced in federal courts across the country, including California, Illinois and Michigan. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University in Detroit and a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.
Michael D. Cushion focuses his practice on patent prosecution for electrical, mechanical and electromechanical matters, as well as business methods. Cushion also provides clients with counseling and legal opinions on matters of patentability, non-infringement and invalidity. In addition to his prosecution and opinion practice, Cushion also works with the firm’s Post-Grant Proceedings practice group helping clients challenge or defend patents via the new administrative trial procedures created under the America Invents Act (AIA).
Cushion earned a Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from GMI Engineering & Management Institute (now Kettering University) in Flint, Mich.
Linda D. Mettes focuses her practice on patent litigation but also is an experienced trademark, copyright and trade secret litigator. Mettes represents clients in wide variety of technologies in the automotive, pharmaceutical, medical device and equipment, consumer electronics, and computer software industries. She has tried patent, trademark and copyright cases in Federal courts nationwide, including Delaware, California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Utah, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, the Federal Circuit and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mettes received her Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in general engineering from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill. She is a registered patent attorney and is authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Kristin L. Murphy joined Brooks Kushman in October and concentrates her practice on patent prosecution and intellectual property litigation. Murphy adds a significant amount of depth and leadership to Brooks Kushman’s growing medical device practice. Throughout her legal career, she has counseled clients from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups in a wide range of industries.
In addition to Murphy’s robust patent prosecution practice, she also has extensive experience with patent, trademark and unfair competition litigation. She’s served as litigation counsel in federal courts across the country, as well as the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She currently teaches Patent Litigation at Michigan State University School of Law.
Murphy received her Juris Doctor degree from University of New Hampshire in Durham and her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Western New England University in Springfield, Mass. She is a registered patent attorney and is authorized to practice in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Kristin is the immediate president of the Women’s Bar Association – Women Lawyer Association of Michigan, Oakland County Region and the president of the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association. Murphy was also recently elected to the Board of Trustees at Western New England University.
About Brooks Kushman:
Brooks Kushman P.C. is a leading intellectual property (IP) and technology law firm with offices in Michigan and California, representing clients nationally and internationally. The firm has more than 80 intellectual property professionals specializing in various technical disciplines. Brooks Kushman has a reputation for providing leading IP strategy and counseling with a focus on the business objectives of its clients and represents clients across many industries with respect to protection, enforcement and monetization of IP, including patents, trademarks, copyright and trade secrets.
Brooks Kushman counts a number of Fortune 100 companies across a variety of industries among its clients. The firm is recognized by a number of leading legal publications and rankings, including Corporate Counsel magazine, U.S. News & World Report, IP Law & Business magazine and the Law360.com organization. For more information, please visit www.brookskushman.com.